House cannot be run in Empress Market style, says Speaker
KARACHI: Sindh Assembly Speaker Agha Siraj Durrani on Friday commented that it was impossible to run the house in Empress Market style, following the hullabaloo in Sindh assembly over the Bagh Ibne Qasim issue.
The squabble started when MQM-Pakistan MPA Faisal Subzwari said that his party does not accept handing over of the park to Bahria Town and will protest against it.
Speaking on a point of order to raise the issue of giving the park to Bahria Town from the control of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC), Subzwari said that the act of the Local Government Department was not acceptable and it will be protested not only by the mayor of Karachi but also the citizens of the metropolis.
In his reply to Subzwari, Sindh Minister for Local Government Jam Khan Shoro said that MQM occupied around 300 parks, even sewers and has destroyed the equipment of fire services.
Clarifying the position of his department, he said that the park has been handed over to Bahria Town for the maintenance purpose for ten years and no one will be asked for money to enter it. “We are going to renovate the park and not occupy it,” he said.
PTI MPA Samar Khan said that the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) is doing much more for Karachi. But, he has been witnessing the poor condition of park for four years.
Guzara allowance cannot be disbursed to all deserving poor people: The assembly was also briefed about the Guzara allowance. The house was told that number of deserving poor people in the province was excessive and due to lack of funds Guzara allowance was not possible to be disbursed among all of them.
Sindh Minister for Zakat and Ushr Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said that presently the department was providing Guzara allowance for around 85,000 deserving poor people, whereas the number of poor people was excessive in the province and the department couldnot provide allowance to all of them.
He said that if the department receives more funds then it will increase the number of deserving people, as well add some more amount to Guzara allowance.
He further said that he accepted that the amount of Guzara allowance Rs 1000 per month was very meager and it will be increased soon when his department will get extra funds.
Replying to another question regarding disbursement of funds to people who do not deserve the allowance, he said that if a complaint was received then an action will be taken against those responsible.
Answering another question, he said that no new programme was initiated during 2008 to June 2013. However, the mode of disbursement of Guzara allowance to the registered mustehqeen-e-zakat was shifted from local zakat committees to biometric identification system through NADRA in the year 2012-13.
He further said that stipend to deserving students for primary to middle level is Rs 300, high school Rs 500, Intermediate and Graduate level Rs 650, Engineering and medical college and engineering universities Rs 3000 and postgraduate Rs 3000; while stipend for students of Deeni Madaris and Hifzo Nazra was Rs 150, Mauqoofe ahle Rs 375 and Doure hadith Rs 750.
The allowance given to the indoor patients and outdoor patients were Rs 5000, Rs 3000 respectively, adding that marriage assistance to an unmarried woman was Rs 20,000. For rehabilitation Rs 5000 grant or each deserving person and social welfare was Rs 500 to Rs 700 per month per beneficiary.
Nasir Shah said that Rs 893.824 million fund was released by the federal government during 2013-14 as a share of this province.